


Feeling Electric

by HubcapsAndAshtrays



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Awkward Romance, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Maybe a smidge of angst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-02 15:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10947270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HubcapsAndAshtrays/pseuds/HubcapsAndAshtrays
Summary: It was fuck past stupid o’clock at night.Correction, it was fuck past stupid o’clock in the morning.The one where Maggie and Alex keep running into each other at a dodgy twenty-four hour grocery story after midnight.





	1. Bad Coffee and Semi-Automatics

**Author's Note:**

> So it seems i have a strange need to write a fluffy fic with this title for every fandom i crawl into...

It was fuck past stupid o’clock at night.

Correction, it was fuck past stupid o’clock in the _morning_.

Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, Maggie and god-awful early were long known friends, she saw more of the early morning apricot sky than she did of her own apartment ceiling. Criminals, it seemed, couldn’t care less whether Maggie had slept twelve or two hours before choosing to commit a crime.

But like she said, _normally_ that wouldn’t be a problem. However, tonight -today? it was not _only_ fuck past stupid o’clock in the morning, it was fuck past stupid o’clock _and_ she hadn’t eaten anything since lunchtime. The problem with having nothing but bad coffee sludging around in your stomach at such an ungodly hour was that all the respectable takeout places were closed.

The Thai place off of third was still open but that place always seemed to smell of mildew. Her old partner had gone there once and had been suspiciously absent for the next few days, only to come back munching on crackers and bread for the whole shift, she didn't want to risk it.

Maggie pulls up to the brightly lit twenty-four hour grocery store. The front was a bright orange with the words ‘Geof cery's’ displayed above the automatic doors, faint grey marks indicating spaces where letters had fallen off and not been replaced.

She feels oddly on edge as she walks through the empty parking lot, It was too silent, the type of silence that wasn’t soothing or peaceful but rather caused the hair on your arms to stand straight up as if called to attention. Maggie shakes her head, an attempt to shake herself out of whatever it was she was in when suddenly she notices a motorcycle parked near the entrance.

Maggie frowns startled, how had she not noticed that? She edges pass it, and quickly rolls her eyes at her own ridiculousness. Her body was probably more tired than it was letting on, and the bike _—_ t he very nice bike, if she said so herself _—_ most likely belonged to whatever sorry schmuck had the graveyard shift.

She enters the store and immediately squints as unnaturally bright fluorescent light assaults her bloodshot eyes. There’s faint music playing, something that sounds like it came straight from a 70’s infomercial. Maggie quickly makes her way over to the ready meals, wanting this surreal experience to hurry up and be over with.

She picks up the first one she see’s before deciding to double back and pick up a vegetable to go along with the pitiful excuse for a meal, a stalk of corn, something easy. It wouldn’t do to suddenly die from the blood clot this meal was just itching to give her.

Maggie meanders through the empty aisles, looking for something that had at least come out from the ground when she see’s _it_. It, being a lone dark figure supporting a motorcycle helmet in place of a head. She freezes, watching as the figure holds a wire basket filled with doughnuts, lazily browsing a shelf as if they hadn’t just damn near given Maggie a heart attack.

She’s sure that the store had been empty when she came in, in fact she’s _certain_ that it had been, she’s a detective, she’s trained to notice these types of things. The sheer amount of items in the black clad figure’s basket however, would suggest otherwise. It seemed that they had been here for a while.

The figure begins to whistle, it’s a happy little tune and by now Maggie is certain that she is fast asleep on her desk, drooling on a pile of crucial paperwork, all this being a strange dream that she will no doubt be spending the whole of the afternoon trying to decipher.

She pinches her bicep and lets out a small hiss, definitely not asleep.

The figure suddenly turns towards her with a slight head tilt, they stay stood staring at each other for a few drawn out seconds before Maggie hears a muffled but distinctly amused voice.

“You alright there Detective?”

Maggie frowns “How did you know i was a detective?” had this person been following her?

Her question is quickly answered as the person in question removes their helmet and for a moment Maggie is sure that that pinch had been a fluke and that she _is_ in fact making a puddle on her laminate desk, because the last thing she expects to see is a _very_ attractive brunette stood before her.

The woman points towards Maggie’s belt “Badge” she responds simply.

Maggie looks down at the detective badge clipped onto her belt “...Right”

“Late night?” asks the woman with a smirk

Maggie quickly pushes aside her lingering astonishment and raises a brow, not one to let someone get the better of her “I could ask you the same thing” she shoots back.

The woman shrugs “Early start, i should get going, see you later Detective”

Maggie watches as the woman leaves before shaking her head and continuing in her search for the elusive ‘vegetable’.

 

###

 

She hasn’t had much experience with stalkers, stalkers weren’t really the science division’s specialty, that was more the strange, the spooky and well… the scientific.

Right now, however, Maggie truly believes that she is being stalked by the woman she has taken to calling ‘Helmet’ _—_ since all the times Maggie’s caught her lurking in the twenty-four hour store she either has her helmet on or tucked securely under her arm. This is the third time she’s seen her, they haven't spoken since the first but Maggie has felt the woman’s gaze on her on more than one occasion, only to turn around and for no one to be there.

This time Maggie is certain that she has the jump on the other woman. The store is as to be expected at this ridiculous hour, empty _—_ apart from her and Helmet of course. Helmet who hasn’t seemed to notice her yet as she glares at boxes of instant coffee before seeming to come to a decision, knocking four boxes into her basket.

Maggie smirks and silently approaches the woman, the woman who buys way too many deep fried goods to be that thin. Her interest in her grows. Did she have roommates? Kids? Maggie watches as the woman knocks another box into her basket bringing the grand total to five. She doubted it, people with kids didn’t spend their late nights and early mornings in the twilight zone looking like they were planning on OD’ing on caffeine.

Maggie leans against a nearby shelf and crosses her arms “Another early start?”

The woman, to her credit, and Maggie’s disappointment, doesn’t even flinch. She turns around smoothly with an amused expression, brow raised “Is there any particular reason why you’ve been watching me for the last five minutes Detective?”

 _Impressive_ , Maggie smiles and pushes herself off of the shelf, palms held up “Guilty”

“Nice choice”

Maggie frowns, confused “What?”

The woman nods to the whiskey in her hand “Most people go for Tennessee, you know Jack Daniels, George Dickel, that sort of stuff, you’ve gone bourbon”

“You know that they’re pretty much the same thing right?” says Maggie with a chuckle.

The woman rolls her eyes as if she’s had to explain this a million times “Yeah, but Tennessee whiskey is filtered through sugar maple charcoal after distillation, bourbon isn’t”

Maggie blinks owlishly “Translation”

“It’s why Tennessee whiskey has a more mellow flavour whereas bourbon has a stronger fuller flavor”

Maggie lets out an impressed whistle “So she not only drives the sexiest motorcycle i’ve seen in years but she also knows her whiskey, wow”

To Maggie’s utter surprise the tips of the woman’s ears begin to turn a deep red, she looks away with an awkward half-shrug.

“Yeah, well…”

Maggie grins at the the woman able to go from confident and suave to adorable and shy in two seconds flat. She holds out her hand, deciding to put the woman out of her misery  “Detective Maggie Sawyer”

The woman accepts it with a firm shake “Alex Danvers”

Finally a name to the face, it’s been long enough. “So Danvers, i feel like i’m at a disadvantage here” says Maggie in mock offense.

Alex raises a brow “How’s that?”

“Well, you have my excuse—I’m a cop, but i want to know why _you_ are always here at the ass crack of dawn”

“I needed coffee” says Alex with a shrug.

Maggie glances into the basket “Seems like overkill”

“Really?” snorts Alex “I thought you cops were powered off of bad coffee and semi-automatics”

Maggie smiles “touché”

There’s a sudden shrilling noise, Alex quickly pulls out a phone, her expression immediately sobering “Danvers” She grunts out before frowning “What’s your ETA?...” Her jaw clenches and she gives a sharp nod “understood... I’ll meet you there”

Alex quickly shoots Maggie a hesitant glance before racing out of the store, leaving Maggie feeling more confused and intrigued than she had been when she entered. She looks down and notices the woman's abandoned basket on the floor, before bending down and surreptitiously transferring two boxes into her own basket.

Bad coffee and semi-automatics Indeed.


	2. Robert the Useless Cashier

Everyone that Maggie asks agrees with her, normal people don’t answer their cell phone barking out their last name, nor do they use operational acronyms such as ‘ETA’ in ordinary everyday sentences. But that was old news, Maggie had already known that Alex Danvers wasn’t a normal person based on the sole fact that normal people did not spend their nights roaming second-rate twenty-four hour grocery stores. 

So what was Alex? She wasn’t a cop, Maggie had checked. It hadn’t been one of her finest moments, conducting a background search on a random woman she had met in a store, but she had had sound basis to. Like she said,  _ normal people _ were asleep at such an hour, the only people who weren’t, it seemed, were criminals.

But Maggie has seen criminals up close, she’s been trained in studying body language and reading between the lines and Alex Danvers doesn’t strike her as a criminal, regardless of how peculiar and reserved she was.

Maggie picks up a loaf of bread before a wide-eyed glance at the price tag has her placing it back down and reaching for the off-brand type.

It had been a little over a week since Maggie had last seen Alex. Her captain had taken one glance at the precinct’s broken window before doing his very best to send her home at an reasonable hour everyday this week, stating that he did not need  _ another  _ detective having a breakdown in the middle of the work day and deciding to hurl a keyboard out of the window, they couldn’t afford that.

Maggie snorts, Gotham, National City, Nebraska. It seemed the only constant in her life was how strapped for cash precincts always were.

A loud crash and a muttered curse has Maggie automatically reaching for the gun holstered at her hip. Her eyes snap over to the only open checkout where a young man with the name tag ‘Robert’ sits. His eyes drift towards the source of the disturbance before lazily flicking back down to an issue of ‘Disney and Me’ spread out on his lap.

Maggie rolls her eyes but removes her hand from her gun, taking Robert’s less-than-interested reaction as an indication that nothing particularly malignant was happening in the store. Then again, with Robert, Maggie could never be too sure, armed men could be rifling through the stale baked goods and she could quite confidently bet her Triumph that Robert would be more interested in the latest antics of Lilo and Stitch.

She rounds a corner towards the ruckus not knowing what to expect, a toddler? Supergirl? Bigfoot? Any of those would have seemed more believable than what she actually saw. Lo and behold it was the unflappable Alex Danvers herself, presumably drunk off of her ass, stumbling around like a newborn foal. 

Maggie cautiously inches closer to the woman who was clutching onto a shelf —a shelf whose contents were now spread out all over the sticky linoleum floor—for dear life, her knees and brain seeming to be having a disagreement.

“Rough night Danvers?” asks Maggie with a concerned frown “everything ok?”

Alex gives a clumsy nod before grimacing at the movement “Maybe i’ll.. i’ll sit, just for a little bit” she mumbles before lowering herself to the floor that most likely hadn’t been cleaned since a time B.C.

Alex’s head falls to her bent knees and she lets out a long sigh, suddenly looking despondent. The sight unexpectedly tugs at something in Maggie’s chest who after a quick internal debate about the chances of catching dysentery from the bacteria-ridden surface carefully lowers herself down beside Alex.

It takes several tries of Maggie calling Alex’s name for her to get the other woman’s attention “I said is there anyone that i can call?”

She’s never been this near to Alex before, Maggie takes the rare opportunity to observe the other woman up close, as if she would be able to learn her secrets from studying the curvature of her mouth. Maggie’s eyes slowly drift over Alex’s face stopping on the slight furrow in her brow before being drawn to her eyes, eyes that even when clouded with alcohol are a twinkling brown.

Eyes that are framed by dark circles.

“I’ll be fine” mutters Alex, leaning her head back against the shelf.

The corner of Maggie’s mouth quirks upwards, even when drunk Danvers was as stubborn as a bull “That’s not what i asked”

Alex doesn’t respond, the only sounds being faint infomercial music and the turning of glossy pages from Robert. 

“Do you ever feel like you’re just making things worse, even when you are trying to help?” whispers Alex with a slight slur.

Maggie knows the feeling more than she would like “Sometimes”

“Yeah, well” Alex lets out a tired sigh “that’s what i do, i make things worse”

Maggie doesn’t know how long they are sat on the floor, she doesn’t realise how long it’s been until she feels Alex’s head lolling onto her shoulder. She turns her head and is met with the sight of Alex Danvers fast asleep on her shoulder. Maggie lets out a sigh but leaves the other woman where she is, trying not to concentrate on the feeling of gentle breaths fluttering against her neck.

It looked like she was going to be driving Danvers home, she’s is about to wake the woman and ask her for an address when there’s a sudden familiar shrilling. It's a testament to how drunk, tired or a mixture of the two that Alex is that she doesn’t even twitch at the piercing sound.

Maggie carefully pulls a phone out of the pocket of Alex’s leather jacket. The phone screen displays the name ‘Kara’ complete with a photograph of a brightly smiling young woman with what looks like ice cream smeared on her nose. 

“Alex, thank god! I was worried, you just left and J-” The rushed voice comes almost instantly as Maggie accepts the call.

“This isn’t Alex” says Maggie, interrupting the worried tirade.

There an is awkward silence on the line before the voice comes back. “Who is this? What have you done with my sister-!”

Maggie is taken aback by the ferocity of the voice, something she didn't think of as possible of coming out of the endearing girl in the photo. “Woah, hold on, she’s with me passed out at the grocery store” Maggie glances at the woman fast asleep on her shoulder “She didn’t look in such a good way, so i stayed with her”

“Thank you, i’ll be right there”

The line disconnects before Maggie can specify what grocery store they are at. The automatic doors slide open what feels like sixty seconds later, the young woman from the photograph walking in, her hair looking strangely windswept.

“You must be Kara, the sister” says Maggie as the woman immediately crouches down to Alex, her expression a mixture of concern and slight disappointment.

She wants to ask if this happens a lot but refrains “I have a squad car outside if you two need a ride”

The girl, Kara, shakes her head softly “No, it’s ok i can f-, i can  _ drive  _ her home, i parked… around the back” Kara frowns “Wait, squad car? Are you a cop?”

“Detective actually”  

Recognition dawns on Kara’s face “You must be Maggie”

Maggie’s brow furrows, she didn’t expect that “Alex told you about me?”

Kara gives a small, strangely warm smile “She talks about you sometimes”

_ She does? _

“I should get her home”

“Right” Maggie nods and turns to Alex tucking a strand of her short hair behind her ear “Wake up sleepyhead”

Alex groans and burrows her face even deeper into Maggie’s shoulder, Maggie can’t help but chuckle.

“Come on Danvers, you don’t want to spend anymore time than you have to on this floor trust me” says Maggie. Alex’s eyes slowly blink open, waking just enough for Kara to gently bring her to her feet with surprising ease for someone so small.

Kara turns around and shoots Maggie a grateful look “Thank you again Maggie” she says before leaving, a hand wrapped around Alex’s middle.

Maggie stays sat alone on the floor for a beat, considering everything that’s just happened before getting up and deciding to leave without buying anything today.

 

###

 

“You know sometimes i think that you don’t actually exist outside of this store”

Alex lets out a confused chuckle “You calling me a ghost or something?”

Maggie shrugs and raises a brow “Well, this place  _ is  _ a deathtrap” she says pointing to a greyish puddle that she’s sure has been there for at least a week “Maybe you died in here” 

Alex rolls her eyes “You know you’ve touched me right?”

“I know and you haven’t even taken me to dinner yet” says Maggie playfully.

Alex clears her throat, a faint blush covering her cheeks “yeah, well, if i was a ghost i would have to be pretty pathetic to haunt  _ this  _ place”

Maggie grins “On that we agree”

“About before…” starts Alex, scuffing a shoe against the ground, suddenly looking very uncomfortable.

Maggie knows what Alex is about to bring up before she even mentions it “It’s fine Danvers, we all lose our cool sometimes, right?” Alex shoots her a grateful look “It’s fine, however, you do have to do me a favour now, since i helped you out”

“Name it” 

“You have to tell me why you smell like someone decided to have a barbeque indoors” says Maggie with a smirk. She had noticed the smell almost immediately, it had hit her before she had even seen Alex. However, as unpleasant as it was Maggie had to admit that it was miles better than the smell of alcohol that had been on Alex’s breath last time.

Alex grimaces “I had a disagreement with some paella”

Maggie can’t help but burst into laughter at the irked look on Alex’s face “What! paella is like the easiest thing to cook, my aunt taught me when i was like fifteen”

“Well  _ paella  _ nearly burned down my apartment” says Alex spitting the word as if it had personally wronged her.

“Give me your basket” gasps Maggie when she eventually manages to finish laughing. Alex hands over her basket wordlessly “Ok follow me” 

“What are you doing?” asks Alex as Maggie walks through the store, picking up various items and dropping them into Alex’s basket.

Fresh parsley is added to the growing contents of the basket “Helping you out” says Maggie “Do you have olive oil at home?”

Alex’s nose scrunches up “Uh”

“You’re hopeless Danvers” says Maggie before putting olive oil into the basket “I’m guessing you don’t have any garlic either”

Alex winces “...no”

Maggie chuckles “truly hopeless, honestly you’re lucky you’re cute”

Alex opens her mouth to respond but quickly closes it “So what next?” 

“Lemon”

“Oh i have lemon!” says Alex “We use it for pancakes”

Maggie raises a brow “How do you make pancakes without olive oil?”

Alex shrugs “My sister’s been bringing her own recently”

Maggie regards Alex with an amused expression for a few moments before shaking her head and moving on “So here’s what you’re going to do, you’re going to heat  some of that oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and then you’re going to add the chicken… Alex are you listening to me?”

Alex’s head is tilted deep in thought, she suddenly snaps her fingers “Milk, i need milk!” she exclaims before rushing off.

Maggie shakes her head in mock insult as Alex begins to walk back, milk in hand. “You know i could have arrested you before, this is how you repay me? I might have even enjoyed putting you in some handcuffs”

Suddenly the milk falls from Alex’s hands and hits the floor with a dull thud, spilling out all over the floor. Alex gapes, mouth opening and closing as she begins to blush. “You did that on purpose” accuses Alex eyes narrowed.

Maggie chuckles, watching as Alex steps out of the white puddle spreading around her “You should have been listening to my treasured family recipe” she says before sticking her head out of the aisle to glance at Robert who was sitting, poking angrily at the register “Clean up on aisle seven?”

Robert doesn’t even look up as he jabs a finger towards a pile of old mops and buckets.

Maggie rolls her eyes but grabs two mops and bucket, throwing a mop at Alex who catches it with surprising ease.

“This is your fault” grumbles Alex as they begin mopping up.

Maggie snorts “Please, just because you couldn’t take a little joke about handcu-” starts Maggie before being quickly cut of by a glare.

The puddle of milk almost seems too big for the small container it originated from, it  feels like they have been cleaning it up for ages. Maggie glances at the murky water in the bucket and gets an idea, she begins whistling innocently before plunging the mop into the bucket with a bit too much force, causing some of the water to splash up onto Alex who’s head snaps up to look at her with a glare.

“You didn’t” she gasps.

Maggie grins before flicking the mop at Alex, causing droplets of water to flash up on her. Alex jumps back with an honest-to-god squeal, mop held out in front of her threateningly “Don’t you dare Maggie!”

She grins “Or what?”

Alex plunges her mop into the bucket before flashing it at Maggie causing a torrent of dirty water to hit her right in her face, Alex gasps “Oh my god Maggie! i’m so sorry i-”

“You’re dead Danvers!” 


	3. Never Believe It's Not So

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first sorry about the delay, i went on a bit of an unplanned hiatus.
> 
> Secondly, I lied, this is going to 4 chapters not 3, mostly because i had to spilt the final chapter up into two parts because it was killing me and needed to post *something* even if it was the metaphorical litter runt.

The store is magical.

Usually Maggie would scoff at such a ridiculous _ ,  _ not to mention  doltish statement, because m agic, much like Santa Claus and fashionable Crocs did not exist. Sure, Maggie’s seen mind-blowing extraterrestrial technology and awe-inspiring alien abilities that seem almost magical _ — _ flying girls in miniskirts being one. But if being a part of the NCPD’s Science Division had taught her one thing, it was that there was  _ always  _ a completely logical explanation behind the extraordinary.

Except of course in this case, there was no explanation for  _ this _ .

Well, maybe one. 

Magic.

Maggie inches closer towards the wiggling can of Pringles, taking slow, careful steps as to not scare the apparently sentient container. She brings down a leather boot and winces at the loud crunch that echoes throughout the deserted aisle, only now noticing the suspicious trail of crumbs leading up to the  _ very  _ mobile can.

The wiggling suddenly stops and Maggie freezes, muscles tensed for action at the slightest indication of a threat. What threat a cylindrical piece of cardboard could present? Maggie’s not sure, all she knows is that she  _ really  _ does not want to start shooting at a can of sour cream and onion Pringles, regardless of how offensive the flavour. 

A small black and white and distinctly feline head pops out of the can.

Maggie doesn’t jump, she doesn’t, and it's a statement she vows to stick to regardless of any conflicting CCTV evidence just begging to disagree.

On the ground in front of her sits what might be the tiniest kitten she’s ever seen. A very tiny _ — _ and if the strangely hostile stare she is being met with is any indication, very annoyed kitten. Maggie swears she see’s the kitten’s eyes narrow into a glare before it lets out a high pitched squeal, most likely demanding that she go back to whatever it was she was doing and mind her own damn business because she ‘didn't see nothing here.’

Maggie blinks at the tiny, strangely intimidating kitten as it stumbles back into the can. The content crunching noises quickly start back up, the kitten undoubtedly enjoying the  stackable snack chips .

Maybe a bit too much, Maggie’s brows rise in amusement as she watches the can slide across the floor and collide with the base of a shelf before quickly twisting around and sliding in the other direction, the kitten munching happily all the while.

Maggie grins before strolling over to the next aisle where Alex is stood muttering angrily at a block of cheese.

“Psst, Danvers psst!”

Alex looks up with a frown “Why are you whispering? You do know that we’re the only ones here right?” 

Maggie fights an eye roll and instead holds out a hand making a quick ‘follow me’ gesture. Alex, as oblivious as she sometimes was simply stares at Maggie as if she just grew an extra head. This time Maggie doesn’t even try to fight the exasperated but fond eye roll before grabbing Alex’s hand and physically pulling her away.

“Look” Says Maggie jabbing a finger into the aisle.

It’s silent for a few seconds before Alex responds, confusion clear on her face. “So, you uh, made a mess and wanted me to... look at it?”

“What?” frowns Maggie, dragging her gaze away from Alex and into the aisle. The empty, kitten-less aisle “Wait, no there was  _ definitely  _ a kitten here, I just saw it” her eyes land on a familiar green tube “Inside the can, see.”

Alex shoots her a strange look before walking over to the can “Wait you’ll hurt it-” starts Maggie just as Alex begins to flip the can.

Nothing falls out. No kitten, not even a crumb.

“I  _ knew  _ there was something strange about the cheese” mutters Alex peering into the cylinder.

“I'm not crazy! I saw a kitten, it was eating  _ pringles _ ” stresses Maggie very aware of how ridiculous she sounded, hell, if she was Alex she probably wouldn’t even believe herself.

Alex clamps her bottom lip between her teeth and looks like she’s either about to burst into laughter or call up National City’s psych ward to ask if they’ve recently lost a patient “...Pringles, ok that’s um-” 

Maggie narrows her eyes “Don't look at me like that.”

“Like what? I'm not looking at you like anything, this is my neutral face” says Alex pointing to her face which is suddenly and very conveniently the picture of pure innocence “I am  _ completely  _ neutral.” 

Maggie snorts “Neutral my-”

_ Meow. _

Alex stills “That… That wasn’t you was it?”

Maggie lifts her gaze and breaks out into a grin “There it is!”

Alex’s eyes flitter back and forth between the feline perched amongst the potato chips and Maggie who was reaching up on her tiptoes to point at said feline. “Maggie... that's a kitten.”

“See, i told you” says Maggie bringing her finger away from the kitten to jab at Alex.

There’s a sudden clatter as the kitten knocks down a can of Pringles, the lid popping off at the impact.

Maggie raises a brow “greedy bugger.”

The kitten sen ds an annoyed squeak Maggie’s way before tumbling to the ground.

“Can i pet it? Do you think it’ll bite me?” asks Alex. 

It’s honestly a wonder that the woman isn’t bouncing up and down in childish glee, her voice sounds one ‘cute’ meow away from it. “I don’t kno-” starts Maggie, but before she’s even finished lecturing Alex on the dangers of deceiving appearances the brunette is already reaching down to pet the tiny ball of fluff.

The kitten quickly jumps back, spine arched and ears flat. Alex, unfazed, begins to make a soft clicking sound. There’s a comment about feral kittens and the loss of digits on the tip of Maggie’s tongue when suddenly the kitten begins to toddle over towards Alex.

Maggie sighs, watching as the kitten rubbed itself all over Alex’s legs. it seemed not even animals were immune to the charm of Alex Danvers.

“He’s so cute!” says Alex, now sat on the floor with the kitten _ — _ apparently a male, snuggled into her lap.

Maggie side eyes the kitten who looks almost smug “If you say so.”

“You don’t like cats? How can you not like cats?” asks Alex, incredulous, as if she wasn’t stroking a cunning, conniving, pint-sized bully.

“Oh _ i  _ have no problem with cats, it's them who have a problem with me.”

Alex rolls her eyes “Don’t be silly, come here” she says patting the space beside her.

Maggie begins to approach Alex and is quickly met with a hiss from the kitten sat in her lap “I told you.”

“Our police force defeated by a kitten” teases Alex, shaking her head in mock disappointment “Do you want me to hold your hand?” 

“Yes.” 

A sudden heaviness thickens the air and Maggie wants to kick herself. It seems that her voice didn’t get the memo from her brain that they were just meant to be teasing and keeping things light, as the word falls out her mouth without even an inch of jest coating it.

Surprisingly, Alex doesn’t look like she’s about to gather up the kitten and run in the opposite direction but rather is staring at her intently and in a way that Maggie can’t quite read.

Maggie quickly clears her throat as her cheeks begin to burn under Alex’s gaze. “Ok” she says yielding like rubber “but If he bites me i’m blaming you.” 

Maggie lowers herself down beside Alex, making sure to keep a respectable distance between them, lest there be any more  _ misunderstandings  _ between her mind and body. Her plan, however, crumbles spectacularly as Alex’s body begins to unconsciously shift closer towards her, only stopping once their thighs are mere millimeters apart.

Maggie swallows at the warmth radiating from Alex’s denim clad thigh. She casts a surreptitious glance up at the woman and is suddenly forced to rethink the whole ‘unconsciously’ thing as Alex quite determinedly looks everywhere but at her, fingers fidgeting anxiously in the kitten's soft fur.

Maggie tries not to read into it and in an attempt to distract herself reaches for the kitten. She’s quickly swiped at by a chunky, razor sharp paw “Little shit.”

“He’s only playing”

Maggie snorts “Yeah, i’m sure that’s  _ one  _ word for it” she says, wiggling her finger just out of the kitten’s reach, watching in amusement as he squirms in Alex’s grip to get to it.

The corner of Alex’s mouth twitches upwards “You scared of a little scratch Sawyer?”

“No, i enjoy a little scratching every now and again” 

It takes a second for the insinuation to hit Alex “...Oh” 

Maggie laughs “You’re too easy” 

Alex rubs at the back of her neck, sheepish “I really set myself up for that one didn’t i?”

“Don’t beat yourself up, it happens to the best of us” grins Maggie with a playful nudge.

She’s rewarded with a smile and a surprisingly solid nudge back before Alex’s attention is once again drawn to the finger-nibbling kitten in her lap, eyes lit up with a tenderness that Maggie wouldn’t have thought of as possible of coming from the motorcycle-riding, whiskey-drinking, fire hazard of badass that was Alex Danvers, but somehow very fitting coming from the easily-flustered, doughnut-eating, random-fact-sprouting nerd that was also Alex Danvers.

The very same woman who nearly gave her a heart attack what felt like forever ago.

Maggie doesn’t realise that she’s staring until Alex glances at her with a small self-conscious frown “What?” she asks with an embarrassed chuckle.

A soft smile spreads across Maggie’s face, she shakes her head “Nothing.”

Alex’s brow furrows but she seems to accept the answer and goes back to playing with the kitten, the kitten who was somehow staring at Maggie with a look akin to pity, eyes pleading with her to stop with the pathetic heart eyes before he threw up a hairball.

“Shut up” she mumbles before stroking between his ears.


	4. Assuming we make it out of here alive, how about a date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ready for the grand finale?

Maggie prides herself on being able to see patterns. Her captain had on more than one occasion deemed her _exceptional_ at reading between the lines and at being able to connect even the faintest of dots.

Identifying signs and connecting patterns was, when it boiled down to it, the basis of her job as a detective. For example, a key witness suddenly changing their statement could indicate that someone had gotten to them.

A shaky hand inching towards a waistband might signal a concealed weapon about to be fired.

Missing, incomplete paperwork could indicate a cover-up.

Similarly, the highlight of Maggie’s day being a ridiculously late trip to an offbeat store might also be what one would call a ‘huge ass sign.’ Hell, it was probably flashing neon.

Maggie Sawyer had no problem recognising signs, coming to terms with said signs, however, was a completely different matter. Not that her acknowledgement or lack thereof mattered much. _It_ was there like a wine stain on a cream rug, like a blade of light in a pitch black room.

Maggie shoves her hands deep into her pockets and sighs. Whatever she _might_ be feeling wasn’t important because the fact of the matter was that what was happening here couldn’t happen.

Her and relationships were like oil and water, they just simply did not mix. Besides, if Maggie’s twenty-something years on this earth had taught her anything it was that she was better off alone.

Except, recently she’s been feeling like that _might_ not be the case. Ever since Maggie’s life had been invaded by a feisty, dorky, oxymoron of a badass she’s been spending more and more time sitting alone in bars, wondering if Alex would approve of her choice of scotch, imagining what Alex’s eyes would look like under the dark shadowy lighting of her usual haunt, under the soft amber lighting of her apartment.

She wants to steer clear, she _needs_ to steer clear because she's been down this very same path more times than she can count. Each time telling herself that _this time_ feels different, but every time it's the same hurt and self doubt waiting for her at the end.

So Maggie tells herself to steer clear, she’s _going_ to steer clear.

Except, by the end of the week Maggie has four loaves of bread in her kitchen, and unless Alex is living with half a dozen roommates there’s at least six cartons of milk in her’s. The worst thing is that Maggie’s sure that if each loaf of bread and carton of milk could form a letter they would all come together to spell out a big, bold and capital ‘You Like Her.’

As far as signs went, that was probably as irrefutable as they got.

Maggie pauses in her steps and glances up, glad to finally see a sign she was more than ready to deal with.

She walks beneath the limp ‘Ice cream’ banner and heads over to the frozen goods section, which was as to be expected, all but empty. Maggie rolls her eyes, glowering at the limited selection _—_ did Robert even know how to restock shelves? She suddenly catches sight of a lonely tub of chocolate brownie ice cream and is already fantasizing about all the humid nights made better by such a perfect and timely treat, when another hand suddenly grabs at the tub.

“I got it first!” It’s Alex, of course it was Alex, no one else was ever in the damn store.

Maggie snorts “Well, if that’s not the biggest lie I've ever heard”

Alex frowns, her nose scrunched up adorably, as if she hadn’t just been about to commit what felt like grand larceny right under Maggie’s nose “What?”

“I was here first” says Maggie, voice resolute.

Alex scoffs “No way you were”

“Yes i was, and I’m taking this baby back to my place”

“Come on” It sounds suspiciously like a whine “it’s like ninety degrees outside and my AC broke, i _need_ this”

Maggie’s eyes narrow, unyielding “My apartment _doesn’t even_ have AC. You’re not going to win this Danvers, _let go_ ”

“I’ll never let go”

“Ok Rose” snorts Maggie, her mock glare melting into a smile at Alex’s petulant expression.

“Look there’s mint over there” says Alex pointing into an adjacent freezer “why don’t you get that?”

Maggie raises a brow “Mint? Are you being serious?”

“I know right” Alex grimaces “I've never understood how my sister could eat that stuff”

Maggie chews at the inside of her cheek, considering something “Fine, tell me what you do and it’s yours”

Not unexpectedly Alex’s eyes narrow, suspicious “Seriously?”

“Yep”

Alex seems to ponder the proposal for a few seconds before answering “I’m a scientist”

Maggie's unsure of whether or not she had expected that. Alex was book smart, that much had become clear within a few days of interacting with the woman. She can almost picture Danvers nerding out in a lab, clad in a flowing white coat and with goggles perched on-top of her head as she peered into a microscope, muttering unintelligibly. There is, however, another part of Maggie that is skeptic. She's seen glimpses of something more arcane in Alex, something that seemed unfitting of a lab rat.

But that might just be the motorcycle and skin tight leather speaking.

Alex glances from Maggie's face to the hand on the tub expectantly, Maggie grins “You know what? I've changed my mind-”

“No, no take backs! You gave me your word detective!” protests Alex with a firm finger, the complete and utter outcry in her voice making her look more like a flustered puppy than a threatening adult “Are there no honest cops left? You can’t-”

Maggie’s unsure of whether it’s the heat or a possible Freon leak that causes her brain to short circuit as she halts Alex’s adorable mini rant with a kiss.

Alex immediately freezes up and Maggie’s heart drops. She is a second away from pulling back with an embarrassed apology when slowly but surely she feels gentle reciprocation. Maggie smiles into the kiss, melting at the feel of a feather-like hand brushing across her cheek. She pulls back watching Alex gape wordlessly, her expression one of complete shock.

Maggie grins, taking the opportunity to gently pry the ice cream tub from Alex’s suddenly limp fingers, before sauntering off, a swing in her hips and a new bounce in her step. She begins silently counting to five.

Right on cue she hears the bewildered “Hey! wait!” from behind.

_BANG!_

The unmistakable crack of a gunshot sends Maggie’s ears ringing and her heart racing, her first thought is of Alex and her safety. Alex, it seems doesn’t need to be thought of as Maggie is suddenly dragged down behind a shelf, Alex crouched next to her holding… _a gun_?,

“Why do you have a gun!?!” she hisses.

“Reasons” Alex hisses back “Is this really important _right now_?” she asks sounding more exasperated than terrified.

Maggie glances around the shelf, catching sight of three men dressed head to toe in black, complete with balaclavas and stupid sacks that might as well have big dollar signs on them. They couldn’t have looked more like the Hamburglar's apprentices if they tried.

The guns all three of them were jabbing at Robert’s head, however, were much less humorous.

Maggie ducks back behind the shelf and turns to Alex “It is if i’m going to have to arrest you alongside those idiots”

_“Give us all the money!”_

“I’m FBI” says Alex

_“I can’t it’s… it’s jammed”_

“I thought you said you were a scientist?”

Alex shrugs “I can do both”

Maggie eyes her suspiciously before conceding “Ok then hotshot, what's the plan?”

The answer Maggie is expecting is verbal, something along the lines of ‘bluff and tell them that the police is on their way’ or ‘you know what Detective? Since you guys do all the real policing around here you can lead.’ What she most definitely is not expecting is Alex suddenly jumping out from behind their cover, gun drawn, looking for all the world like she had a death wish.

Maggie quickly jumps up alongside her, pulling out her own gun, she’ll be damned if she let Alex get herself killed.

“Put your guns down now!” commands Alex.

The three men turn from Robert towards them. Robert, sensing the opportunity races out of the back door.

“Yeah, i didn’t think that would work” says Alex with a tight smile before dragging them both back behind the shelf, just in time to avoid a spray of bullets.

“You’re a cocky fed who’s going to get us both _killed_ ” snaps Maggie.

Alex raises a brow “I needed them to stop focusing on Robert, and now we have an advantage”

The shelf shakes with the force of the bullets hitting it.

Maggie winces at the sound of groaning metal “Yeah? How do you figure?”

“First of all they’re amateurs, their aim sucks. Dude on the left looks like he has a bum knee and the guy on the right was shaking so much i could practically see the sweat rolling off of him. He couldn’t even get a shot off, safety was still on.

Maggie doesn’t know whether to be impressed or irked “And what? you got all of that in thirty seconds?”

Alex gives a half smile “I’m good at what i do”

Maggie chances a look at the men “We need a clearer shot” she says, glancing to the aisle on their left.

Alex gives a sharp nod as if reading her mind “I’ll cover you”

She waits for Alex to start shooting in the vague direction of the men before quickly sprinting across the open walkway and into the next aisle. She shoots Alex a thumbs up before gesturing for her to come. Alex is halfway across when Maggie sees one of the men aiming directly at her, she quickly pulls the trigger sending a bullet into his leg.

“Nice shot” Says Alex

The compliment almost outweighs her hatred of shooting people... almost “Well, he’s not going to be walking for a while”

“We’ve lost a guy”

Maggie frowns “Wha-?”

Her sentence is suddenly cut off by a firm “Shh” and a finger covering her mouth. Alex’s head tilts to the side as if listening intently when like a bullet her leg shoots out of the aisle.

There’s a thump and a groan as a man who Maggie hadn’t even realised was there falls to the ground. Alex quickly drags him into the aisle, knocking him unconscious with an efficiently delivered elbow to the temple.

“Don’t suppose you have any handcuffs?” Asks Alex after disarming the man.

Maggie shakes her head, still amazed at Alex’s ninja-like display.

Alex lets out a casual hum before striking him once again “that should hold him”

She is speechless.

“I’m walking out of here with my money” calls a male voice.

Maggie snorts “How’d you figure?”

“This semi has rounds that’ll shred those shelves to glitter. You’re cover-less, let me go and i won’t kill you”

“That sounds good” Maggie turns to Alex “what do you think Danvers?”

Alex sighs “I think we better take that deal.”

They stare at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

“This isn’t a _joke_!” yells the armed would-be robber, enraged.

As if to prove his point the shelf is suddenly hit with a screen of bullets, causing it to rattle and buckle under the assault. Maggie winces at the bullet shaped mounds being punched into the metal.

The situation quite quickly goes from bad to worse as Maggie realises that she’s chosen the aisle dedicated to alcoholic beverages. More specifically, their cover was a shelf housing very breakable wine bottles.

Right on cue the sky begins to rain glass and soon they are swimming in crimson liquid. 

“Well this can’t get any worse” mumbles Maggie, her hands coming up to shield her head from the hazardous downpour.

It can.

The next bottle falls with a vengeance, shattering on Maggie’s knee and sending razor sharp shards everywhere.

Maggie feels a sudden stabbing pain in her thigh and looks down at her leg in confusion, trying to figure out if the dark growing stain on her pants were from wine or blood “Oh”

Alex’s head snaps towards her “What?! Are you ok?”

“It’s ok” says Maggie with a barely concealed wince “it’s just my leg”

There’s a large shard of glass about the size of a knife blade sticking out of her thigh. blood oozes out of the side of the wound before pooling on the linoleum. ‘Just’ might have been a little bit of an understatement.

“I’m going to stabilize this” says Alex after examining the wound.

Maggie lets out a nervous chuckle “I hope you know what you are doing”

“I’m a doctor… kind of”

That didn’t exactly instill confidence “I thought you said that you were a scientist moonlighting as a federal agent?”

“What can i say, i’m a multitasker” says Alex, deadpan, ripping a strip of material from the hem of her shirt.

“More like an overachiever” teases Maggie.

Another round of bullets hit the shelf, this time lead tips begin to appear through the battered material. They were running out of time.

Maggie grimaces “He really wasn’t kidding was he? Who uses that kind of firepower robbing a grocery store?”

Alex doesn't respond, her focus solely on the glass shard in Maggie’s thigh “This is going to hurt, i’m sorry”

_“This is your last chance!”_

Maggie gives what she hopes is a reassuring smile “I trust you, just.. take my mind off of it”

“Ok, uh um…” Maggie frowns as Alex’s neck quickly begins taking on a familiar shade of red “t-there’s this new tapas restaurant that opened up downtown” her confident hands are a stark contrast to her nervous demeanour.

Maggie’s leg burns at the growing pressure “..Yeah?”

“Um, we could, if you want we could check it out… together?” Alex’s voice is little more than a squeak at the end.

Suddenly the searing pain in her leg is the last thing on her mind “Are you asking me out?”

“...Maybe” says Alex, eyes downcast and set on the task at hand. 

“Maybe? That's just what every girl wants to hear” teases Maggie with a grin.

Alex rolls her eyes and lets out a huff “You know what? I’m just going to yank this out-”

_“Ask me”_

Her adamant tone causes Alex’s eyes to immediately snap up to meet her own “You’re asking me to ...ask you out?”

The corner of Maggie’s mouth twitches upwards “Something like that”

“Ok” starts Alex, her voice softer than Maggie’s ever heard it “So..uh, Assuming we make it out of here alive, would you like to go on a date... with me?”

Maggie has to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from grinning like an idiot “Yes”

Alex smiles and lets out a relieved breath before giving Maggie’s leg a gentle pat “All done”

The shelf begins to sway one again under the deafening assault of more bullets, it wasn't going to hold up for much longer.

“So what are we going to do about trigger happy?”

“Do you trust me?” asks Alex, brown eyes fixed on Maggie.

“Yes” the sincere confirmation rolls off of Maggie’s tongue like butter, the easiest 'yes' she’s ever said.

“On three, ok?” 

Maggie places her finger onto the trigger, adrenaline spreading through her veins like wildfire. One way or another this was ending now.

“...One”

She can hear the sound of sirens approaching, but the sound of a reloading rifle was louder.

"...Two"

There are two things that Maggie is certain of. Firstly, whatever happens in the next five minutes, she wouldn't for one second take back meeting the enigma that was Alex Danvers. Secondly, regardless of how things turn out she’s sure that it was going to be one hell of a story.

On NCPD paperwork at least.

“...Three!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cue credits flying in overlaid by Edward Sharpe’s ‘Home’*
> 
> There it is, Feeling Electric in its entirety, i hope you enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it.
> 
> (For anyone who is following my other fic 'All The Way Down' i will continuing updating that right after i post the one shot i'm currently working on)


End file.
